Current Cannabis Prices are High in Michigan
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]D[/dropcap]ata reveals that prices in Michigan are high for cannabis in the legal market and that black market prices are more affordable.
According to a study by Leaflink and an article in Metro Times, Michigan had some of the highest wholesale prices in 2019 for cannabis products of all the states examined.
“Michigan’s wholesale price for edibles—$0.79 for a milligram—was higher than the other nine states in the study: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington,” the study explains. “Edibles also provided the lowest profit margins for Michigan dispensaries.”
The 160 dispensaries in Michigan paid $2,917 for a pound of flower in 2019 compared to the average of $1,304 in the other ten states the study examined. Oregon had the lowest prices of all the states looked at. Concentrates in Michigan were $34.70 per gram when the average across the ten states is $18.80 per gram. On the other hand, the wholesale price of a one-gram cannabis cartridge was $28.90 in Michigan, and the average across the ten states is $33.40.
Concentrates in Michigan were also disproportionately expensive at $34.70 a gram. Only Alaska sold its concentrates at an even higher price. The average price per gram of concentrates across the examined states was $18.80. This study only looked at medical prices, as recreational cannabis wasn’t legalized in the state until December of 2019.
So far, even if prices do mirror high medical prices, recreational cannabis is still selling out in Michigan. Ever since legal cannabis kicked off last year in the state, there has been no shortage of consumers looking to purchase local cannabis products. Some other states such as California are struggling with high prices as well, with more tax increases that some are worried may hurt the industry. The question is whether Michigan will be able to bring down their medical prices to be more competitive with the black or grey markets.
